Stella J.M. Cousins - College of Natural Resources

Stella J.M. Cousins
stella.c (at) berkeley.edu
130 Mulford Hall #3114 Berkeley, CA 94720
EDUCATION
University of California Berkeley
Ph.D. candidate
2010-present
Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management &
Division of Ecosystem Sciences
Advisor: Professor John J. Battles
Yale University
Master of Forest Science
2010
Bachelor of Science
2004
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
Stanford University
Department of Biological Sciences
RESEARCH & PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Graduate Student Researcher
Research Assistant in Ecology / Land Use Change
Natural Resources and Open Space Planner I;
Planning / Mapping Technician
2010-present
University of California Berkeley
2008-2010
Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry
2006-2008
2006
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Assistant Conservation Easement Steward
Vegetation Survey Crew, Sierra Nevada Foothills Project
Undergraduate Research Assistant
2005-2006
Marin Agricultural Land Trust
2005
California Native Plant Society/
California Dept. of Fish and Game
2003-2004
Ackerly Lab Group, Stanford University/ Jasper
Ridge Biological Preserve
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Refereed research articles
Cousins, S., Battles, J., Sanders, J., and York, R. Decay patterns and carbon dynamics of standing dead
trees in mixed conifer forests. In Review. Forest Ecology and Management.
Battles, J. Saah, D., Robards, T., Cousins, S., York, R., and Larson, D., 2013. Intact Forests. Sequoia
and Kings Canyon National Parks Natural Resource Condition Assessment. Appendix 12 in: Panek, J.A.,
J.J. Battles, J.T. Austin, C.A. Sydoriak, K.R. Nydick, A.M. Esperanza, D.S. Saah. 2013. A natural
resource condition assessment for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Natural Resource Report
NPS/SEKI/NRR—2013/665.12. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado.
Other publications
Battles, J., and Cousins, S. University of California Berkeley. 2014. Carbon Dynamics and Greenhouse
Gas Emissions of Standing Dead Trees In California Mixed Conifer Forests. In review. California Energy
Commission. Publication number: CEC-500-2014-TBD.
Cousins, S., and DuVal, A. 2012. Management Approaches for Protected Areas of Cultural and Biological
significance: the Beech Pollards of Aiako Harria Natural Park. Chapter 5 in: Integrative Protected Area
Management: Reconciling conservation, restoration, and recreation objectives in Aiako Harria Natural Park,
Northern Spain. Ashton, M., Muruetagoenia, T., and DuVal, A., editors. Nova Publishers, Hauppauge, NY.
COUSINS CV (web/abridged version, April 2015) p. 1
Cousins, S., Tyrell, M., and Ward, J. Characterizing Ecosystem Health in Fragmented Northeastern
Forests. Proceedings of the Third Emerging Issues Along Urban/Rural Interfaces Conference: Linking
Science and Society, April 2010, Atlanta, Georgia. Edited by D.N. Laband.
In Preparation
Cousins, S., Esperanza, A, Battles, J., and Cisneros, R. TBD. Chronic exposure to ozone pollution inflicts
injury in Sierra Nevada forests. For submission to Environmental Science and Technology
DeLasaux, M., Cousins, S., and Desantis, R. TBD. Teaching ecosystem ecology concepts at the Forestry
Institute for Teachers: a program evaluation. For submission to Journal of Forestry
TEACHING & OUTREACH
Teaching
Berkeley Connect Fellow, ESPM 98
Graduate Student Instructor, Intro to Enviro Studies ESPM C12/English C77
Guest Lecturer, Fire Ecology FES 51016
Instructor, An Intro to Dendrochronology: Methods and Applications
Ongoing outreach and extension activities
Forestry Institute for Teachers
Bay Area Scientists in Schools
Graduate Students in Cooperative Extension
Assoc. for Fire Ecology/ UCB Center for Forestry
UC Berkeley, Spring 2014
UC Berkeley, Fall 2012
Yale University, Spring 2010
Yale University, Nov 2009
Program evaluation and on-site support, 2014-present
Instructor, 2011-present
Organizing committee, 2013-present
Grad chapter organizing committee, 2012-present
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
Cousins, S., and Battles, J. Patterns of pollution damage and tree growth in Sequoia and Kings Canyon
National Parks. Presentation. Science for Parks and Parks for Science: The Next Century. Berkeley,
CA. March 25-27, 2015.
Cousins, S., Sanders, J., York, R., and Battles, J. Improving estimates of carbon dynamics for snags in the
Sierra Nevada range. Presentation. International Union of Forest Research Organizations/Society
of American Foresters Joint World Congress. Salt Lake City, UT. October 6-11, 2014.
Cousins, S. Pines under pressure: how Sierra Nevada forests respond to ozone and drought. Presentation.
International Union of Forest Research Organizations World Congress. Salt Lake City, UT. October
6-10, 2014.
Cousins, S., Sanders, J., York, R., and Battles, J. Trees in Transition: the role of standing dead trees in
th
forest carbon dynamics. Presentation. 99 Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America.
Sacramento, CA, August 11-15, 2014.
*Fertel, J., Cousins, S. and Battles, J. The effect of spring snow regime on tree growth in the Sierra
Nevada. Poster. UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources Sponsored Projects in Undergraduate
Research (SPUR) Symposium. April 2014. *Undergraduate mentee
Cousins, S., Battles, J., and D. Larson. Deciphering forest response to drought and air pollution in the
Sierra Nevada. Presentation. Second American Conference on Dendrochronology. Tucson, AZ,
May 13-18, 2013.
Cousins, S. and Battles, J. Current conditions and trends in ozone injury to pines in the Southern Sierra
Nevada. Poster. Southern Sierra Change Adaptation Workshop. Visalia, California, February 2022, 2013.
AWARDS
2016 UC Berkeley/ESPM William Carroll Smith Plant Pathology Fellow
2015-2016 National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) Graduate Student Fellow*
2015 UC Office of the President/ANR Sustainability Fellow
2014-2015 UC Berkeley/ESPM Frank Myers Forestry Fellow
2014 UC ANR Graduate Training in Cooperative Extension Pilot Program (Inaugural Fellowship Class)
2014 (Spring) UC Berkeley Berkeley Connect Fellow
2013-2014 UC Berkeley/ESPM Baker-Bidwell Fellow
2009-2010 Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Conservation Fellow
*award/title contingent on pending project
COUSINS CV (web/abridged version, April 2015) p. 2